


The Litmus Test

by gray_autumn_sky



Series: Affair to Remember [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, OQ Happy Ending Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 09:43:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15264741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gray_autumn_sky/pseuds/gray_autumn_sky
Summary: Regina and Robin finally bring the boys together to meet.Written for OQ Happy Ending Week.





	The Litmus Test

Henry rolls his eyes as Regina eases her car into a tight parking space in front of a mound of snow. This wasn’t usually the sort of day she’d choose to travel and since they left home late that morning, traveling slowly into a snow storm. Her stomach had been fluttering with nerves and over and over again, she debated whether or not she should cancel–but then, by the time she’d made up her mind to do it, the snow had lightened up significantly and the plows and salt trucks were out, clearing the roads and invalidating her flimsy excuse.

And it was only after she couldn’t cancel that she realized she hadn’t really wanted to.

Finally, she and Robin were bringing Henry and Roland on a date–and this would be the true litmus test of their relationship.

Up until this point, they’d kept things just between the two of them–and though their relationship started as a whirlwind love affair, real life had slowed it down. For the most part, she thinks she’s glad for the slow down. It gave her time to process it, and even though she was mostly certain that Robin Locksley was the man she was meant to grow old with, she needed to be sure that the flame that was so quick to spark between them didn’t fizzle out when the excitement wore off.

So, for the past two months, they’d dated–sort of.

There was still the better part of a state between them, and for the foreseeable future, that wasn’t going to change. They saw each other on weekends and once on a random Wednesday when he’d surprised her for lunch on his way to pick up Roland from Marian’s. They talked constantly though, through texts and skype. He always texted her Good Morning before her alarm had the chance to go off and sent her funny pictures when she was in meetings that she struggled not to laugh at; and she’d set him up on her office desktop as she had lunch and he’d tell her about his day, stopping every now and then to assist a customer who’d wandered into his store. When she got home he was with her–be it on Skype of an actual phone call– through her dinner routine and once Henry had been fed and was working on homework or a playing a video game, their conversation would usually pick up again–and usually would turn a bit naughtier as nighttime neared–until it was finally time to say goodnight. And then, the next morning, it started all over again.

It’d been her idea to bring the boys together, and they’d decided to meet halfway.

Robin picked a park that had a skating rink and a hot cocoa stand, and she’d found a little diner nearby it where they could eat–and then, if things went well, there was a movie theatre and an arcade not far away.

“Okay,” Regina breathes out as she pushes the shifter into park. “You remember–”

“Mom!” Henry cuts in. “We’ve been over this a hundred times.”

“Not a hundred.”

Henry’s brow arches as he looks over at her. “Fine. Ninety-nine.”

“I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable or–”

“I suffered through years of Graham trying to be my friend.”

“He liked you,” she says, her voice piquing in weak defense. “He really tried–”

“He was boring.”

“And what if Robin’s boring?”

“He’s not.”

“You seem awfully sure of that,” she says, undoing her seatbelt and turning herself to look at Henry. “How would you know that? You’ve never met him.”

Henry blinks as his eyebrows arch. “You skype with him all the time.”

“But you’re not–”

“He’s funny,” Henry cuts in. “And his voice is cool.”

“I do like his voice,” she admits, grinning. “You know his son is a bit younger than you.”

“I know,” Henry says, nodding. “As long as he’s not a baby...”

“He’s not,” she tells him, chuckling softly to herself, glad that she’s more nervous than her son is. “I think he plays hockey. Robin’s been teaching him, but his mom–”

“Can I play hockey? Like, on a team.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean–” Regina feels her grin fade and she regrets sharing that detail–a detail that’s been a sore spot between her and Henry since October. “No.”

“Mom–”

“You’ll break something.”

“You let me play–”

“At the park and only in your sneakers… and that’s bad enough.”

“Emma lets me play on roller blades.”

Her eyes widen. “She’s not allowed to babysit you anymore.”

Henry’s eyes roll. “Maybe you’ll get married and he’ll let me.” At that, her heart beats a little faster, and she watches as Henry gets out of the car, rounding to the back of it and tapping against the trunk. “Come on, mom,” he calls. “They’re probably waiting.”

Releasing a breath, she nods and grabs her gloves before roughly pushing the door open. She pops the trunk and Henry grabs his skates, drops them down over his shoulder as he reaches for his bag, grumbling about wishing she’d said something earlier about Roland liking hockey because he’d have brought his stick. Rolling her eyes, she drapes her arm over her son’s shoulder and turns him toward the park.

As they round a bend toward the rink, she spots Robin, crouched down in front of Roland, lacing up a pair of skates–and when he spots her, he stands and waves.

Her heart flutters as she smiles and waves back, hugging Henry a bit closer into her side.

“He looks nice.”

“You’ve seen him before.”

“But not in person,” Henry tells her. “Just on your computer screen.”

Robin lifts up Roland, holding him on his hip as they near, and when she reaches their bench, Robin leans in and presses a kiss to her cheek as Roland giggles a bit–and by the time Robin pulls away, Henry has already wiggled free from her.

“Henry,” Robin begins, watching as Henry sits down on the edge of the bench and drops his skates down beside himself. “It’s nice to finally meet you.” He extends his hand and her heart flutters again as Henry takes it, shaking his hand and telling him that he’s glad to finally meet him, too–and her cheeks flush as Henry adds that she talks about him all of the time. Robin grins as he looks up at her, winking before turning his attention back to Henry. “And this, is my son, Roland.”

“Hi,” the little boy says, almost shyly as he grins.

“Hi,” Henry returns, grinning.

“And this,” Robin says as he turns Roland back to Regina. “This is Regina. She’s daddy’s…”

“Girlfriend,” Roland supplies.

“Oh–” Robin’s eyes widen as he looks between her and Roland. “You know that?”

Roland giggles as Robin looks between her and his son. “That’s what mommy and Mulan said she was when they said I was gonna meet her and needed to mind my manners.”

“Mulan?” Henry asks, looking up from his skates. “You know someone named Mulan?”

Roland nods. “My mommy’s girlfriend.”

“She’s named after the warrior.”

“That’s cool.”

Roland nods, proudly–and a little giggle escapes her as he starts to wiggle in Robin’s arms, ready to be set down and clearly far more interested in talking to Henry than her. “Do you like superheros?”

“Yeah,” Henry says, as he works off his boot. “I like the Avengers, mostly. And Spider–”

“YOU LIKE SPIDERMAN?”

Regina laughs. “I think Roland is in love.”

“Oh, I know it,” Robin chuckles as Roland points out the Spiderman laces on his skates. “He’s been so excited about meeting Henry–and Henry just delivered big time.” Regina grins as Robin’s arm slips around her waist–and though the four of them had only spent a few minutes together, just like it’d been with just the two of them, she couldn’t help but feel that this was exactly where she was meant to be and they were exactly the people she was meant to be with.


End file.
